Baldwinsville shows it can pass, too, during 34-14 win over RFA

Baldwinsville quarterback Casey Colligan consults with head coach Carl Sanfilippo during Friday's game against Rome Free Academy. Baldwinsville won 34-14. (Lauren Long / The Post-Standard)

Baldwinsville football coach Carl Sanfilippo has a message for future opponents.

“We can throw the ball if we have to,” Sanfilippo said. “We just choose not to.

“But if we have to, we’re going to throw the ball.”

Baldwinsville’s star sophomore running back Tyler Rouse still got his yards, carrying 37 times for 237 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown pass.

But the Bees unveiled their aerial attack, really for the first time this season, during Friday night’s 34-14 win over visiting Rome Free Academy.

Baldwinsville improved its record to 5-0 — 4-0 in the Class AA-1 standings. Rome slipped to 3-2, 3-1.

“We prepare to throw the ball every week,” Sanfilippo added. “Our game plan was to mix in a little bit of play-action pass. It worked.”

Bees quarterback Casey Colligan completed 8-of-13 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns, including a 59-yard scoring pass to Rouse on the final play of the first half.

Despite the final score, the outcome of this game was decided in the last five minutes of the first half.

The game was tied, 7-7. RFA, which started on its own 36-yard line, moved down the field and had a first down-and-goal from the 5-yard line. A 4-yard gain by Richard Stapleton pushed the ball to the 1. But the Bees’ defense stiffened, stopping three consecutive running plays for no gain.

Baldwinsville then marched 99 yards on 15 plays. Four of final five plays in the drive were completions by Colligan, including a 16-yard touchdown pass to Agostino Zona that gave Baldwinsville a 14-7 lead with 51.5 seconds left in the half.

There was more.

Rome came out throwing and made one first down, but was forced to punt the ball back to the Bees, who took possession on their own 21 with about 14 seconds on the clock.

With everyone in the stadium expecting the Bees to take a knee and run out the clock, Parker Kiff ran the ball for 20 yards on first down, leaving 5.9 seconds and 59 yards to go. After a timeout, Colligan found Rouse deep up the middle. He broke a tackle and found his way into the end zone as time expired. Mark Stanard’s extra-point conversion gave the Bees a 20-7 lead at halftime.

“That was the key to the game,” Sanfilippo said. “Had they scored on the goal line, they would have taken the lead, and they’d have had the momentum going into halftime. I think that would have been a huge swing of emotion.”

“We’ve got to put the ball in there from the 5-yard line,” RFA coach Ted Swavely said. “That’s a 21-point swing at the end of the half. ... That’s a killer.”

The Black Knights scored midway through the third quarter on a 29-yard run by Hash to make it 20-14. But the Bees powered their way to two more scores, the first on a 12-yard run by Rouse near the end of the third quarter and the second on a 1-yard run by Rouse early in the fourth.

Colligan said he was happy to get the opportunity to throw the football.

“I’m very confident throwing the ball, and I’m confident in my receivers, as well, he said. “They were bringing a lot of guys in the box (to the line of scrimmage), so we knew the deep passes and the flat would be open.”

It was Baldwinsville’s 16th consecutive win over Section III opponents. Last year, the Bees didn’t lose until the state semifinals.

“I don’t know if you can compare the two teams,” Sanfilippo said. “I think we’re a little stronger defensively than we were last year. I think Tyler is doing a great job at tailback, but Malik (Burks) was a great player, too. “This team is on its own mission,” Sanfilippo said. “It’s a separate mission from last year.”